Budgie 10.9 Linux desktop environment gets refreshed Bluetooth applet and partial Wayland support

In a significant update for Linux enthusiasts, Budgie Desktop has today unveiled its latest iteration, Budgie 10.9, marking a new series with notable enhancements and forward-looking architectural changes. This new release gets a redesigned Bluetooth applet, initial steps towards Wayland compatibility, and the adoption of budgie-session for refined session management.

The Bluetooth applet in Budgie 10.9 has undergone a comprehensive redesign, now offering direct connectivity options for paired Bluetooth devices, including the ability to send files seamlessly. Users can also monitor battery life indicators, a feature that adds a layer of convenience to the desktop experience. This redesign signifies a departure from the gnome-bluetooth library, with Budgie now directly interfacing with BlueZ and UPower over D-Bus. This strategic move not only enhances Bluetooth functionalities but also simplifies maintenance and potentially allows certain Linux distributions to eliminate the older gnome-bluetooth from their repositories.

In preparation for a future centered around Wayland, Budgie 10.9 has initiated the porting of various applets and components to libxfce4windowing, a library developed by XFCE. This library presents windowing concepts in a system-independent manner, supporting both X11 and Wayland protocols. Although still under development and not ABI stable, the adoption of libxfce4windowing is a strategic move to ensure a smooth transition from X11 to Wayland. Notable components ported in this release include the Show Desktop applet, TabSwitcher, and the Workspace applet, with significant rewrites to improve efficiency and user experience.

The introduction of budgie-session in Budgie 10.9 marks a significant step in ensuring a stable and reliable session manager. This component, a modified version of gnome-session, is tailored specifically for Budgie 10.x, maintaining essential X11-related session code and integrating ConsoleKit support, particularly benefiting BSD users.

For packagers and developers interested in adapting Budgie 10.9, referencing Fedora's packaging spec for libxfce4windowing is recommended, ensuring a smooth integration into various systems without the need for xfce-dev-tools 4.19.x, unless already a part of the repository infrastructure.

As Budgie 10.9 rolls out, it's clear that the developers are not just refining the present but are also laying the groundwork for a future-proof desktop environment. With these advancements, Budgie continues to cement its position as a versatile and forward-thinking choice for Linux users.